District 7 race headed for recount

Published: Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 11:25 AM.

By the end of a tense Tuesday night in the 7th Congressional District race, U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre led David Rouzer by 507 votes.

By Wednesday, neither congressional hopeful wanted to talk to the media, and it appeared the race was headed for a recount in about two weeks.

“With many uncounted provisional and military ballots still outstanding, the race is too close to call and is now in the hands of election officials,” said Rouzer spokeswoman Jessica Wood in an emailed statement.

She added that the county boards of elections in the 7th District would complete a canvass of the votes by Nov. 16.

“We will let this process play out and go from there,” Wood wrote in her statement.

Johnnie McLean, deputy state elections director, said 10,342 provisional ballots remain uncounted in the 7th District race. She said if history is a guide, roughly half of those ballots would ultimately be deemed valid and counted.

By the end of a tense Tuesday night in the 7th Congressional District race, U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre led David Rouzer by 507 votes.

By Wednesday, neither congressional hopeful wanted to talk to the media, and it appeared the race was headed for a recount in about two weeks.

“With many uncounted provisional and military ballots still outstanding, the race is too close to call and is now in the hands of election officials,” said Rouzer spokeswoman Jessica Wood in an emailed statement.

She added that the county boards of elections in the 7th District would complete a canvass of the votes by Nov. 16.

“We will let this process play out and go from there,” Wood wrote in her statement.

Johnnie McLean, deputy state elections director, said 10,342 provisional ballots remain uncounted in the 7th District race. She said if history is a guide, roughly half of those ballots would ultimately be deemed valid and counted.

After the canvass, if the difference in votes between the two candidates remains less than 1 percent of the total ballots cast, which appears likely, the trailing candidate may request a mandatory recount. Under state law, a recount demand must be in writing by the second business day after the canvass, which would be Tuesday, Nov. 20.

McIntyre spokesman Lachlan McIntosh also released a statement Wednesday thanking voters and saying because it was close, the process would need to work itself out.

“It was a close election, but Mike McIntyre has received the most votes.… We have confidence in this process, and Congressman McIntyre looks forward to representing Eastern North Carolina for the next two years,” McIntosh said in the statement.

Unofficial results at the state Board of Elections gave McIntyre a 507-vote lead, 167,524 to 167,017. The incumbent, who is vying for a ninth term, received 50.08 percent of the votes, compared to 49.92 percent for Rouzer, but the results won’t be official until the canvass in the 12 counties that make up the district.

This all means the winner of this race likely won’t be known for certain for at least a couple weeks.

McLean also said that recounts don’t typically result in a change in the outcome, but that it’s possible if there was a reporting problem from one of the counties or a precinct total was accidentally reported twice or a similar mistake was made.

“There are policies in place to have a manual, hand-eye recount if there is a change in the apparent winner,” she added.

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By the end of a rollercoaster Tuesday night in the 7th Congressional District race, U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre led David Rouzer by 507 votes.

Asked about 11:30 p.m. whether he won the race, McIntyre, the eight-term Lumberton Democrat, said: “That’s what the numbers show.”

McIntyre spoke from a gathering of supporters at the Hilton Wilmington Riverside in downtown Wilmington.

But about 100 miles away up Interstate 40 in Benson, a newly added part of the 7th District, Republican challenger David Rouzer wasn’t conceding defeat.

“We are going to wait for the smoke to clear and see where we are tomorrow,” Rouzer told supporters at the Enoch Winery.

He vowed to keep running.

“This is a pivotal moment in our country’s history,” Rouzer said. “The night is not over. We are going to move forward.”

A recount appeared likely late Tuesday.

Rouzer campaign spokeswoman Jessica Wood said Tuesday night that Rouzer and his campaign staff would meet Wednesday to discuss options, including a recount, with their lawyers. She said the campaign was prepared for this possibility.

“We knew it would be a close race,” she said.

Unofficial results at the state Board of Elections gave McIntyre a 507-vote lead, 167,524 to 167,017. McIntyre received 50.08 percent of the votes, compared to 49.92 percent for Rouzer, but the results won’t be official until the Nov. 16 canvass in the 12 counties that make up the district.

Also, potentially thousands of provisional ballots cast in the 7th District race haven’t yet been counted. In New Hanover County alone, nearly 1,600 provisional ballots were cast during early voting and on Election Day, said county Elections Director Marvin McFadyen. The state Board of Elections is trying to determine on Wednesday how many total provisional ballots were cast across the district, he said.

Johnnie McLean, state board deputy director, said the total number of provisional ballots should be available Wednesday afternoon. If history is any guide, she said, roughly half of those ballots would ultimately be counted.

After the canvass, if the difference in votes between the two candidates remains less than 1 percent of the total ballots cast, which appears likely, the trailing candidate can request a recount, which would be mandatory. The demand for a recount must be in writing by the second business day after the canvass, which would be Tuesday, Nov. 20, according to state law.

That means the winner of this race likely won’t be known for certain for at least a couple of weeks. But McLean said recounts don’t typically result in a change in the outcome, but that it’s possible if there was a reporting problem from one of the counties or a precinct total was accidentally reported twice or a similar mistake was made.

“There are policies in place to have a manual, hand-eye recount if there is a change in the apparent winner,” she added.

After the once-a-decade redistricting process changed the district significantly for this election, the new territory includes all or parts of 12 Southeastern North Carolina counties.

As expected, Rouzer breezed to victory in his home county of Johnston, which he has represented for four years in the state Senate and which regularly votes Republican, winning by more than 15,200 votes there, according to unofficial results.

But McIntyre made up ground in Bladen, Columbus, Duplin, Hoke, New Hanover, Robeson and Sampson counties to make up the difference and then some.

Rouzer took Brunswick County by 45 votes and Pender by 1,929 votes, according to the unofficial results.

After the once-a-decade redistricting process changed the district significantly for this election, the new territory includes all or parts of 12 Southeastern North Carolina counties.

As expected, Rouzer breezed to victory in his home county of Johnston, which he has represented for four years in the state Senate and which regularly votes Republican, winning by more than 15,200 votes there, according to unofficial results.

But McIntyre made up the difference and then some by winning Bladen, Columbus, Duplin, Hoke, New Hanover, Robeson and Sampson counties.